The Magic Book

With one snip of the scissors, a piece of paper can become a diary, a zine, or even a comic book. Learn how to fold, write, and decorate a magic book, and discover the joy of publishing, presented by Baker Artist Awards b-Grant winner Jenny O’Grady.

Marissa Meyer, The Lunar Chronicles

Marissa Meyer is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She’s a fan of most things geeky and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She will be interviewed by Catherine Asaro.

Opening/Advance Reader Copies Giveaway

Debbie Dadey, Mermaid Tales

If you like mermaids or monsters, stop by and see Debbie Dadey. Dadey has written 158 books about everything from vampires to zombies. Her first book, Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots (co-authored with Marcia Jones), turned into the Adventures of the Bailey School series. Her newest book is A Royal Tea, which is #8 in the Mermaid Tales series.

Romance Author Meet & Greet

Free Friday Feedback

Writers! Bring 2-3 short poems or 4-5 pages of prose (fiction or non-fiction) and receive on-the-spot feedback and suggestions on what to do next. Published authors and publishing professionals on hand include: Christine Stewart, Lalita Noronha, Holly Sneeringer and Amanda Fiore.

Jennifer Malone, At Your Service

Leah Eskin, Slices of Life: A Food Writer Cooks Through Many a Conundrum

Bad Haircut Kale Chips. Post-ER Roast Chicken. New Baby Risotto. Frantic Dinner-Party Calming Soup. These are some of the dishes that food writer Leah Eskin has turned out during her years of raising two children, enduring one dog, and tending her marriage. She's also nurtured her ten-year-old food column, "Home on the Range," providing a recipe and accompanying vignette in the Chicago Tribune every week. Slices of Life transforms those columns into a memoir that readers can savor in small or large bites.

Peabody Library Exhibit

Meet the Peabody’s Special Collections staff, learn about the history of this beautiful Mt. Vernon treasure, and see a special exhibit of rare books and archival materials related to Baltimore History.

Dr. Diana Reiss, The Dolphin in the Mirror

Dr. Diana Reiss is a cognitive psychologist, marine mammal scientist and professor. She directs a research program at the National Aquarium investigating dolphin cognition and communication. Her research focuses on dolphin cognition, communication, comparative animal cognition and the evolution of intelligence. Dr. Reiss’s work has been featured both nationally and internationally. Her book, The Dolphin in the Mirror, was released in the fall of 2011.

LitMore Writers Panel

We Need Diverse Books: the grassroots campaign

Speakers from the organization We Need Diverse Books talk about their exciting new group. WNDB formed in response to the lack of diverse narratives in children’s literature and is committed to the ideal that embracing diversity will lead to acceptance, empathy, and ultimately equality. Come hear them talk about what they've done so far, what they hope to do, and their exciting summer reading series for YA and middle grades.

Connie Crabtree-Burritt, BOS Cooks

BOS Cooks is a collection of recipes and stories. In 2005 Baltimore Outreach Services (BOS) began a culinary job readiness program. As a chef, restaurateur, and caterer for over thirty years, Connie Crabtree-Burritt has taught many women who had natural talent but no formal training in the kitchen. Over 100 graduates later, many of these women now have the tools and experience to find employment that will allow them to provide for their families. Their recipes, tips, and stories are their way of sharing their culinary journey.

All proceeds from this cookbook will directly benefit homeless women and children.

Kit, Zander, and M.K. West are settling into their new lives as students at the Academy for the Exploratory Sciences when Kit finds another mysterious map left for him by their father, the brilliant, famous—and presumed dead—Explorer Alexander West.

Tom Reyes & Friends

PEN/Faulkner Writers Panel

Dona Rudderow Sturn & The JNP Project,

Meet Dona Rudderow Sturn and hear how she and her international team at the JNP Project are working to bring empowerment to kids through reading about undersea adventures in a 31-chapter book series. The JNP Project is a movement promoting the understanding and cultivation of self-confidence in all boys and girls, while helping them to discover their inner awesome! This fun, interactive adventure storybook series delivers age-appropriate educational materials, interactive website resources and Jane & Jake Gear.

Writing about social justice in science fiction and fantasy

Join our panel to talk about science fiction that revolves around issues of social justice here on Earth—and elsewhere. From Ursula Le Guin's tour de force novel The Dispossessed to the works of MacArthur Fellow Octavia Butler through a plethora of other writers, science fiction and fantasy authors have never shied away from stories that tackled issues of social justice. Talk with our panelists about their favorite examples and yours.

Debra Latiolais

Melissa Goldthwaite, Books that Cook

Melissa A. Goldthwaite, co-editor of Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal, discusses the pleasures and challenges of including recipes in poems. She prepares Summer Salad, a simple recipe that celebrates the freshest ingredients available in late summer. Goldthwaite also reads her poem by the same title and discuss the choices she made in writing it, including leaving out certain ingredients, showing that in writing—as in cooking—one makes choices, depending on taste, conventions, audience, and the ingredients at hand.

Peabody Collection Spotlight – Children’s Books

Reflecting the World: Writing Diverse Characters

Fostering tolerance and exploring multiculturalism is one of the finest traditions in literature and may be more important now than ever before. Join six authors whose characters reflect a spectrum of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual orientation.

National Aquarium Animal Encounter

Get up close and personal with this Animal Encounter experience. Learn, ask questions, and get a closer look at the animals that make up the National Aquarium’s collection. Both kids and adults alike can enjoy this interactive session with audience participation, fun facts, and tips to help conserve natural environments.

Baker Literary Award Winners

Science Fiction and Fantasy in Young Adult Fiction.

Join our panelists as they talk about the latest books, TV, and movies in young adult science fiction and fantasy. Hear about what's happening in two of the fastest growing fiction genres, from Harry Potter to the Divergent series, from Avatar to the Hunger Games, from the immensely popular books such as John Green's The Fault in Our Stars to those of our SFWA Guest of Honor, Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress.

Josie Iselin, An Ocean Garden: The Secret life of Seaweed

Photographer, writer and book designer, Josie Iselin talks about the process she uses for making her stunning portraits of the natural world around us. She discusses the fun and exciting science of seaweed and introduces the audience to some of the spectacular but common species on both the east and west coasts! Her presentation is accompanied by the stunning images she has produced for her newest book, An Ocean Garden.

How to Plot Your Novel

The writing world is divided between authors who plot their novels and those who fly by the seat of their pants. This panel will discuss the benefits of plotting in advance and teach sure-fire methods to get your book done faster and cleaner on the very first draft.

The books of Robert Heinlein and the work of the Heinlein Society

Robert Heinlein is a giant of classic science fiction. Join John Tilden, a director of the Heinlein Society, and Professor Herb Gilliland, of the U.S. Naval Academy, to discuss the works of Robert Heinlein and the Heinlein Society. During the Baltimore Book Festival, the Heinlein Society is also sponsoring a book drive as part of its “Heinlein for Heroes” program. All donations to the book drive are tax-deductible and will go to military bases across the world and VA hospitals here at home. To participate, please drop off your used or new SF/F paperbacks or hardcovers Friday afternoon or Saturday at the Heinlein table in the SFWA tent. Any author's work is welcome, and of course Heinlein is especially cherished. The Heinlein Society was founded by Heinlein's widow Virginia and exists to “Pay it Forward” by supporting causes that were dear to Heinlein during his lifetime

Debbie Dadey, Mermaid Tales

If you like mermaids or monsters, stop by and see Debbie Dadey. Dadey has written 158 books about everything from vampires to zombies. Her first book, Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots (co-authored with Marcia Jones), turned into the Adventures of the Bailey School series. Her newest book is A Royal Tea, which is #8 in the Mermaid Tales series.

Talk: Flags On The Moon: The Apollo Space Program

Jack Clemons was an engineer and team leader on NASA's Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs. Among his many accomplishments, he also led the team that designed air traffic control systems for the US and UK. He joins us to talk about the Apollo space missions to the Moon. A total of twelve men walked on the Moon, rode on her surface, carried out exploration and scientific experiments, and planted an American flag at their landing site. The flags are still there, monuments to the imagination, resourcefulness, and determination of the human spirit. Each has its own, largely untold, story. Jack's talk will include film clips, photographs, and anecdotes about the missions, as well as insights drawn from his experiences working on NASA's Apollo Moon program.

Jah Works

Catherine Bell, recipient of Washington Writer’s Publishing Houses 2014 Fiction Prize for her book Rush of Shadows, teaches literature and writing at Washington International School. Rush of Shadows, her first novel, brings to life two freethinking women, Mellie, a white, and Bahé, an Indian, who endure the clash of their cultures and come to an unlikely understanding.

Lauren Francis-Sharma’s 'Til the Well Runs Dry tells the twinned stories of a spirited woman’s love for one man and her bottomless devotion to her children. For readers who cherish the previously untold stories of women’s lives, this is a story of grit and imperfection and love that has not been told before.

Jessica Merchant, Seriously Delish

Jessica Merchant is a full-time recipe developer, food writer, and blogger who is intensely passionate about food and writing, and especially sharing her food through her writing. She started the blog “How Sweet Eats” in 2009, and to date it has been read by over 150 million people. Every page in her first cookbook, Seriously Delish, is a bold declaration of love for chocolate, browned butter, and bacon.

Boma Akainy

Smile, Hon, You’re In Baltimore

Join a rambunctious cast of writers from the latest edition of Smile, Hon, You’re In Baltimore. Impresario and ringmaster William P. Tandy leads the way with contributing writers from the zine recently dubbed a “Best of Baltimore” by Baltimore magazine.

Mark Mazzetti: The Way of the Knife

Writing Dark Fantasy

So you'd like to write dark fantasy, horror fiction, paranormals, stories about demons, angels, post-apocalyptic, or other genre-bending fiction that puts you on the edge of your seat. Meet with writers of these genres to talk about what's trending, what publishers are doing, and what tips on writing our panel has to offer.

Youth Poetry Jam with the Baltimore Citywide Youth Poetry Team

Start the Radical Bookfair off right with a special Friday night performance by The Baltimore City Youth Poetry Team, a youth program that engages youth between the ages of 13-21 who live in and around Baltimore City who are passionate about writing, performing and advocating for change in their community.

Lorick Joseph

Happy Hour with Catherine Jones!

Catherine Jones, chef/author, of The Calories In Calories Out Cookbook will do a Cooking Demo featuring her recipes for Festive Margarita Punch to kick off happy hour, followed by Aromatic Basmati Rice, Chicken Burgers with Ricotta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Fresh Mint, Cilantro, and Green Chili Chutney. Join her to learn how to boil basmati rice, roast and grind Indian spices, and make a snappy green chutney that you can serve with almost anything.